Mulberry ups its creativity

Godfrey Davis thinks Mulberry has to be "more creative".

The British brand's chairman spoke about the future after a tough year financially, when a move upmarket backfired. The handbag company has had to rethink its strategy, and Godfrey is happy with the changes they have made.

"From a fashion perspective, we've had to be more creative," he explained to British Vogue, "with more colour; bags that are more cheerful and interesting. We've fine-tuned the product offering and become more disciplined, with a focus on bestsellers."

Mulberry tried to move into a more exclusive luxury position but the gamble didn't pay off and resulted in a 74 per cent drop in full-year profit as well as the departure of CEO Bruno Guillon. To try and turn profits around, the company has switched their focus to a more affordable price range.

"We realised we needed to populate the collection in the under-£1,000 area, because we realised we had lost sight of the fashion and lifestyle element of the brand, so we've addressed that," Godfrey continued. "Last year, we had nearly 60 per cent of the collection at the higher price point, so customers were being bombarded by the more expensive bags when they looked at the website or came into a store, even though the lower-priced bags were there."

The chairman added that they have now increased the offerings in that lower price bracket to closer to 70 per cent, with a view to it being 80 per cent by Spring/Summer 2016.